What They Were Looking For
by tojo1973
Summary: Steve and Kono were both betrayed by the ones they loved. While struggling to move on in the aftermath, they find themselves drawn to each other. Danny, Chin and the rest of the crew will be in the story too.
1. One

Kono walked behind the guard silently, looking straight ahead. The cold, gray, lifeless stone walls mirrored her feelings in that moment. Walking toward the large room, she focused on the task that was in front of her. It was a conversation that she never wanted to have, but knew, in her heart, had to be done.

While working on a case concerning trafficking of drugs and prostitutes being smuggled onto the island, Kono recognized some of the names on the manifests. These were men who worked for Adam's father. Adam had told her all of his father's ties to Yakuza were severed when he cleaned the business up. However, these men were still using the same channels Adam's company did. A few of the documents had Adam's own signature on them. While interrogating two of the men, who they nabbed while trying to board a plane to Japan, one of them, a Haruto Azuma, negotiated a deal; his boss for witness protection. Adam's name was listed as the head of the entire operation.

Kono had run out of the interrogation room and into the women's lockers, emptying her stomach into the toilet. She curled up on the floor of the bathroom into a tiny ball. Her heart broke in despair as the last few years flew in front of her eyes. Everything they had been through together, every time they ran, every dangerous situation they were in, was because Adam said he wanted out. Knowing what she knew now, it felt like it was just a game, that she was just a game.

Sitting down in the chair the guard pointed to, she waited patiently, eyes focused straight ahead, her arms folded in front of her. She was eerily calm on the outside, but there was an inner-turmoil that she thought she would crumble under if she gave into it.

Adam was escorted into the room; his hands folded in front of him, and was led to the chair on the other side of the bullet-proof panel. He held his cuffed hands out while the guard clamped the cuffs to the front of the table. Adam's eyes, however, were focused on his wife in front of him. He had a smile on his beard-clad face.

Once the guard walked away, he leaned in toward the glass, his cuffed hands reaching through the small hole to try to hold Kono's. She immediately moved them back toward her, though her face remained impassive. His smile faltered for a moment, and then he smiled again.

"It's so good to see your face," he said, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Hello, Adam," she said, her voice showing no emotion whatsoever.

"Kono, what's wrong? It's been over a month since I've seen you, and all I'm getting is the cold shoulder," he whispered roughly, clearly annoyed at her attitude.

Her eyes finally focused on his face. She noticed the beard, the sunken cheeks, obviously due to the lack of food he was accustomed to. She looked into his eyes, those eyes that held so much love for her, and wondered if he really knew what damage he had done to her. He made her trust him with her love, with her heart. He lied to her, and he didn't even blink an eye.

"I came to tell you something. I wanted to do it myself. Steve was going to do it, but I told him this was my responsibility. You see, I brought you into my life, my Ohana's life. I am the one that needs to finish this."

His eyes furrowed, confused as she was talking, "Kono, what are you talking abo-"

"Haruto Azuma sends his regards," she told him, venom in her words.

She watched as Adam's face turned pure white, and his hands began to shake. She watched as his eyes looked around the room nervously.

"I don't know what he told you-"

"He told us everything, Adam. He told us how you have been continuing in your father's footsteps. He let us in on how you never really stopped any of the dealings your father was into. He regaled us with all of what has been happening behind closed doors, behind my back!" Her voice got louder with each sentence. She held her tears back, refusing to cry in front of him, as her face went from impassive to disgust.

"Kono, please, you have to let me explain!" He begged, his hands trying to reach for hers again.

"Explain it to me, Adam. Explain to me how you can look me in the eye and lie to me all of these months. Explain how you can stand on that alter, promising to love and cherish me, all the while hiding the one thing you knew would ruin us from me. Explain to me how you could pull this whole thing off, you going to jail for killing two men in self-defense, only to use it as a front so you look clean and innocent, all the while dealing with the scum of the earth. Explain it all to me, Adam."

"I didn't want to lie to you, Kono! I knew you would never stay with me if you knew I had continued with my father's legacy. I had no choice! Don't you understand?!"

"You had a choice! You should have chosen me! You kept telling me you loved me enough to leave that life behind! You said you were making changes, good changes!"

"It would have never worked, Kono! I was in too deep to ever really get out! Are you really so naïve to think it could be that easy?" His voice was filled with resentment, for what she wasn't sure; either at her for wanting him to get clean, or the fact that the team was smart enough to eventually figure it out.

She shook her head, "No, it wouldn't have been easy. But you told me it was worth it. You told me I was worth it," she choked out, her emotions getting to her.

"I left my home, and went on the run with you. I left my family, my friends, everything I knew for you! I have been on the run, shot at, tied up! I had my teeth pulled out and tortured! All for you! All because I believed you and all of your lies! I put my family at risk! I put my job on the line for you!"

"That was all your choice, Kono! I never forced it on you," he spat out, his eyes turning to glare at her.

She looked at him, shocked at the words coming out of his mouth, "I did it because I loved you, and I believed that you really wanted to make a clean start. I did it because you said all the right things and did all the right things. And I was too much in love with you to really see through the lies."

Silence fell over the two for a few moments, both of them looking ragged and raw. Kono swallowed a large lump in her throat before speaking.

"You are being charged with Drug, Firearms, and Human Trafficking, distribution of drugs, prostitution and firearms, and murder. Yes murder, Adam. One of your thugs got greedy, didn't he? He wanted more money for getting his hands dirty for you. So you had another one of your scum employees silence him."

Adam looked straight in front of him, his eyes focused on the wall behind her. He listened, stoically while she ran off the list of charges against him. He never said a word, and just sat back in his chair as she spoke, his face showing nothing.

"You don't have to say a word, Adam. We have you on every single charge. Once Azuma rolled over on you, three others did the same. You and your organization are through," she said. _And so are we._ It was unspoken, but the words were there, in every word she spoke.

She stood up in front of him, reaching for her left hand. Slowly, she pulled her rings off of her finger, and threw them on the table in front of her. While she still ached for the love that she thought would last forever, she felt lighter, like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Straightening her back, looking right into his dead eyes, she said, "Goodbye, Adam," and walked out of the room, leaving him there, still looking ahead, anger and hate marring his features.


	2. Two

Steve walked into his office, sat down behind his desk, and leaned back, closing his eyes. In the last 24 hours, it seemed as though his world had imploded.

The day before was harrowing for the entire team. They had just finished taking the last statement on Adam's case. Everyone was reeling from the shock of what they learned; Adam had never gone straight, and was knee deep in the same twisted business his father was in.

The four men had all been looking out for Kono through the entire investigation, basically taking shifts to make sure she was ok. He knew she wasn't, but, in typical Kono fashion, she pushed forward, doing her job with laser focus, gathering enough evidence to put her husband away for the rest of his natural life. After all the paperwork was done, he walked into Kono's office, taking her hand and told her he was driving her home. She, of course, protested, but it was Steve who won out in the end.

The drive home was silent, as Steve drove along the coast line to Kono's home. He spared a few glances her way on the ride, noticing her head leaning against the door, staring out the window in silence. He noticed the unshed tears in her eyes. He decided quickly on a detour, turning onto the beach. He parked the truck and looked over at Kono, holding his arms out. No words were spoken as she closed the gap between them, laying her head on his chest as she let all the grief and heartbreak out, sobbing. He held her close, rubbing her back softly, whispering words of comfort softly in her ear.

After a few moments, she pulled away, drying her eyes and looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks wet with shed tears. She thanked him for being there and told him that it was exactly what she needed. He then offered to go to the jail himself, informing Adam of the charges that were being held against him. She quickly refused, saying that she was the one that brought him into their lives, and she wanted to look him in the eye when he heard the news that all of his lies were over. He reluctantly agreed, and told her that if she wanted to change her mind, he would be there, and to let him know at any time.

After dropping her off at her house, he turned toward his own home, when his phone rang, and his world fell of its axis.

Joe had called letting him know he was waiting for him at his house, and that they had a lot to talk about. The call was short, but Steve could hear in the older man's voice that this was not a social call.

He sat in the living room of his home while Joe informed him that Catherine was really not who he thought she was. Joe found out through his usual channels that she was in fact CIA. She had been assigned to get close to Steve in order to find out about Shelbourne and the connection to Wo Fat and the Yakuza. With his heart in his throat, he listened as Joe explained how once the truth was out, and Doris was gone, she was supposed to pull out and move on. The Middle East was her way of getting out.

After being quiet for what seemed like hours, Steve finally spoke.

"Why did she show up here before Kono's wedding?" he asked, his voice hoarse and full of anguish.

Joe shrugged and shook his head, "That I can't tell you. She was supposed to make you believe she went off grid. My guess is, she wanted closure, and she needed to come back to make a clean break."

Steve shook his head and stood up. He had to get out. He had to leave. Without sparing Joe a glance, he walked out of the house and into his truck. He needed to run away for a while.

He ended up at the beach, watching the waves roll in all night. His mind kept playing over every moment with Catherine, wondering if he could have seen something. He couldn't. She played him so well. He finally understood why she could never really commit fully to him. She was always keeping him at some sort of distance, and he finally realized why; she wasn't supposed to get too close. The problem was that he fell in love with her, and now he had to live with the fact that all of it, everything was a lie. Even if she really did have feelings for him, their entire relationship was based on a lie. He didn't know how to handle that.

He was back in his office and the weight of the last few days seemed to be placed all on his shoulders. He felt heavy and worn. He still wasn't sure what he thought about everything he had learned, and his head ached, both from not sleeping and from everything on his mind.

So lost in his own head, he never heard his office door open, or Kono walking in. Only when she called his name did he look up at her. She was leaning against his desk, looking at him with concern.

"Kono, "he said, pulling himself up out of his chair and standing in front of her. In an instant, all thoughts of his own problems, melted away, and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his hand moving to her shoulder, wanting to give her whatever comfort she needed.

Letting in a large breath and blowing it out slowly, she looked down for a moment, then back up at his face, and nodded.

"I will be. It was good for me to go. I needed to see him, ya know? I wanted to see his reaction."

Steve nodded, "And how did he take it?"

She laughed humorlessly, shaking her head, "He didn't really have much choice but to admit that he never really tried to go legit. He kept saying that he had no choice." She looked down at her hand and glanced at the empty ring finger, then lifted it for Steve to see. "I left them there. I didn't want them on my finger anymore. They used to be a symbol of the love and commitment we had. After this, it was just a reminder of all the lies he fed me."

Steve squeezed her shoulder softly, causing her to look at him again.

"Do you need to take off today? We don't have a case, it's just paperwork. You can go home, go surfing, clear your head," he asked, his voice soft and soothing.

"I want to be here, Steve," she said, her voice firm. "I want to be with my family right now. Besides, I don't think I want to be in my place anymore. That was where we were going to start our lives. I don't want that reminder."

He nodded, "Whatever you need. If you need to take a few days to find a new place, go ahead. We are all here for you, whatever you need."

She smiled up at him, lifting her hand and squeezing his on her shoulder, "And who is there for you?"

He furrowed his brows, "What do you mean?"

She lifted a brow and gave him a look, "I'm not blind, Steve. I saw you when I came in. You looked like you haven't slept in days, and you obviously stayed out all night judging by the fact that you are wearing the clothes you wore yesterday. Spill, brah," she commanded.

He dropped his hand off her shoulder and looked down, unsure of whether he could tell her what he found out. She was going through her own private hell.

"Steve, "she said, grabbing his arm to get his attention, "you have been there for me ever since we found out about Adam. Let me be there for you."

Looking down at her hand holding his wrist, he sighed, and nodded. He motioned for her to sit down, while he rested on the edge of his desk. From there, he let her in on everything he learned in the last day. She sat and listened, shock on her face. Her hand found his as he was speaking, holding on to it tightly.

"Wow, Steve are you ok?"

He shrugged, shaking his head slowly, "I don't know. I don't know what to think. Was it all an act? Did she ever have any feelings for me?"

Kono's heart broke for him as she watched the heartbreak on his face. Steve was always taking care of everyone else on the team, especially her as of late. She decided that she was going to be there for him while he dealt with everything.

"I'm sure she did," she said. When he looked up at her she continued, "She came back, Steve. She wasn't supposed to, but she did. I think she did it because she couldn't just walk away. She needed the closure. She would only need that if there were real feelings there. I'm sure, though it started as a job, it turned into something else entirely."

"What do I do with that, Kono? How do I move on, knowing what I know now? She lied to me, the entire time we were together! How do I move on from that?"

She was silent for a moment. She was asking the same questions in her mind about Adam, so she knew what he was feeling. Looking down at her hand holding onto his, then said, "We take each day as it comes, do the job we do, very well I might add, and we be there for each other. We hold on to the family we have, and deal with everything as a family, as a team, like we always have. We are here, Steve. Just like you told me yesterday, I am always here if you need me. "

Steve looked at her with his eyes filled with unshed tears, and pulled her up, him standing at the same time. He pulled her over to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders hugging her. He arms came around and snaked up his back, her fingers holding on to his shoulders. He leaned in and closed his eyes, his head resting in the crook of her neck. He lifted his head and placed a small kiss on her cheek, then whispered in her ear, "We'll be there for each other, always."

She pulled her head back and looked at him, her eyes as blurry from tears as his and nodded, "Always."


End file.
